28^th Sep 1929-6^th Feb 2022

The last time I wrote about this great singer , it was a hurried tribute immediately after her sad demise more than a year back. With an illustrious career spanning almost 7 decades , she has left behind thousands of songs for us to cherish. It is almost impossible for any blogger  to do full justice to the task of writing  about her songs.  If there is one singer whose songs I can keep listening on and on without ever getting bored, after my personal favourite Rafi, it is no doubt Lata Mangeshkar. One may have reservations on some of the issues she had with many of her co-singers, music directors etc  as a person, but when it comes to Lata ,  the artist , she was absolutely without any comparison. She was just perfection personified!

During her prime years, mainly the 50’s to early 70’s , she had rendered her best songs composed by  almost all the leading music directors of those days and picturised for heroines across generations! Till the first decade of this century, she was active though age had caught up and one could sense  the strain in her  voice in last films like Veer Zara ( 2004).

On 28^th Sep , 2023 she would have completed 94 years. I was wondering what theme I could select  to write about. I thought of taking up the various genres she sang that would be a fitting tribute to the versatility in her songs. There is always a popular belief that Lata could only sing  sober, classical  and romantic songs, but if we seriously explore we can find she had rendered all the genres, even songs with sensual tones that one normally does not associate with her.

I have tried to showcase all types of songs that she sang. The genres and the songs are solely my own choice.  Song listing is based on various genres , with the song -film-year-music director-lyricist-co-singer mentioned in that sequence. I have also tried to place one style  contrasting to the previous one so that when you listen you can appreciate the variety in her singing.

Patriotic-Vande Mataram-Anand Math-1952-Hemant Kumar-Bankim Chandra Chatopadhyay-Lata with Hemant da.

Whenever we talk of Lata’s patriotic song, Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon is the most commonly talked one. Many would have forgotten this gem of a song from a 1952 film Anand Math that was the debut film for the veteran music composer  Hemant Kumar’s debut in Hindi films. Whenever I listen to this , especially the way in which Lata stretches the “Maa……aaa” , I get goosebumps. She would have been just 23 years when she sang this. What a maturity in her rendition!

• Romantic- Dil dhadke nazar sharmaye -Albela-1951-C.Ramachandra-Rajendra Krishan

We go one year back…1951. The film Albela was a musical feast with C Ramachandra giving a dozen odd hits. If one had followed Lata’s songs closely, one can always  observe an extra sweetness in her voice whenever she sang for CR. This one oozes with romance.

• Sad- Aaj Socha to aansoo bhar aaye-Hanste Zakhm-1973-Madan Mohan-Kaifi Azmi

I vaguely remember reading somewhere , an article,  in which it was mentioned that Lata had lost the innate sadness in her voice in her later years. I would beg to differ on this. Listen to this masterpiece from the 1973 film Hanste Zakhm composed by one her most favourite music composer – Madan Mohan. MM’s masterpiece composition with his trademark sitar bringing out the pathos in Lata’s voice so poignantly.

• Happy- Kahe jhoom jhoom-Love Marriage-1959-Shankar Jaikishan-Shailendra

Who else to bring out the foot-tapping  energetic Lata, than Shankar -Jaikishan. Although she had not mentioned much about the great emperors of Hindi film music ( like many others!!) , it was SJ who had given hits after hits during her initial two decades of career. I always describe SJ’s compositions as “high-octane level”-the energy in their songs is simply infectious!.

• Ghazal- Hum hai mata-e-koocha-Dastak-1970-Madan Mohan-Majrooh

Madan Mohan, whom Lata considered as her rakhi-bhaiya, composed the best ghazals ever in Hindi film music and was rightly called the Ghazal king. He had Rafi , Talat among male singers and Lata among female , to render his masterpiece ghazals.

Dastak was MM’s all-time best film , that gave him his first and sole  National award for best music . Note how Lata displays  her expertise in  Urdu diction with words like ‘kharidaar’ . Many times, when I listen to this song, my eyes automatically become moist.

No gender bias when I write this-normally male singers are considered experts in rendering ghazals, but just listen to the manner in which Lata pulls this off with such a commanding style.

Nothing is impossible for the Nightingale!

• Qawwali-Teri Mehfil Mein kismat aazmakar -Mughal-E-Aaazam- -1960-Naushad-Shakeel-Duet with Shamshad Begum

If there is one genre in which Lata had sung very few songs and could be considered her Achille’s heel, it is definitely the qawwali where her sister , Asha  had the upper hand. But the veteran Naushad did bring out her skills in this also , pairing her with the indomitable Shamshad Begum who, in the pre-Lata days was the highest paid singer and was much sought after for her voice that resembled a temple bell. When Lata, Rafi were getting paid around Rs 250 per song, Shamshad commanded a princely amount of Rs 5000 per song, those days!

•      Lullaby-Mein gaaon tu chup ho jaa-Do Aankhen Barah Haath-1957-Vasant Desai-Bharat Vyas

Make any incurable insomniac listen to this lullaby and I am sure he will fall asleep by the time the song ends! A simple but subtle orchestration  by one of the most under-rated music composers Vasant Desai. The film version of this song is even more beautiful with added alaap in between that was sadly missed out in the version  we normally hear in radio.

•      Sensuous- Bahon mein chale aao,-Anamika-1973-R D Burman-Majrooh

When I  discuss about singers with some  of my friends, they  have a prejudice  against Lata , stating she was more suitable for sober , sad, classical songs and was not capable of singing sensuous songs. Even worse is that there is a popular perception that only if singer is able to sing such songs he/she is labelled as “ versatile”-whatever that means! My personal take is that it could have been more of a personal choice that she avoided these songs and not that she could not sing them. This one song is enough to prove that. There is one more composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal-Aaa Jaan -e-Jaan , aaa mera yeh husn jawan . One more reason why the popular perception veered around that view could have been that Lata’s voice has an  inherent divinity.  

I try to stay away from these controversies and enjoy each artist’s skills that enriches my listening pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uzRGxe0LUs

•      Despair-Khuda-E-Bartar – Taj Mahal-1963-Roshan-Sahir Ludhainvi

Many would not have heard this rare song from the film Taj Mahal that was more known for the very popular romantic duet of Rafi & Lata-Jo Wada Kiya Woh Nibhana Padegaa. Again, these types of songs were quite rare for Lata , but as always she renders anything given to her with expertise. Written in chaste Urdu, by the great poet Sahir Ludhianvi, Lata brings out the basic theme of the song-futility of wars in such an evocative manner.

Playful-Aplam chaplam -Azaad-1955-C.Ramachandra-Rajendra Krishan-Lata with Usha Mangeshkar

A superbly choreographed song , that brings out the peppy style of Lata’s singing. One can also categorise this song a dance number. Percussion was always a great strength on CR and the tabla superbly played in this song keeps excellent company to the sisters-Lata and Usha.

Haunting-Kahin deep jale kahin dil-Bees Saal Baad-1962-Hemant Kumar-Shakeel Badyuni

Among all great  music composers of the golden era, Hemant da and Madan Mohan composed some of the best haunting scores. This one is an eternal favourite among those ,  composed by Hemant da. The way Lata croons the “ oh oh ho…..” conveys the eerie feeling so nicely. 

Classical- Man mohana bade jhoote-Seema -1955-Shankar Jaikishan-Shailendra

One can list out hundreds of Lata’s classical raag based songs. In this 4-minute song, the magicians SJ bring out a full classical concert feel , with the classicism in Lata’s voice at its best. The  alaap she does towards the end of the song are so intricate and with a voice that is pure honey, we go into another world while listening.

Bhajan-Ae Malik Tere Bande Hum-Do Aankhen Barah Haat-  1957- Vasant Desai-Bharat Vyas

I am consciously avoiding the most popular songs in a particular genre, only  to showcase some songs that somehow go un-noticed. Many would have expected Allah Tero Naam , but it is a much- talked about song among  the devotional songs of Lata. Ae Malik Tere Bandhe Hum  is equally , if not even more pious. Composed by the legendary Vasant Desai who , along with Jaidev are considered to be masters in composing bhajans. Of course, if we look at Lata’s Marathi abhang, Meera bhajans, there are countless examples one can write about. That would be the topic of an exclusive blog.   

Folk-Non-Film-Doli Chad Diyaan Maariyaan (Heer-Punjabi Folk song) -Traditional composition-Rendered live at Albert Hall , London, probably in 1974

I  always discover songs that I have never heard , when I start searching content for my blogs. This is exactly what happened when I was looking for some folk songs of Lata. I was simply floored completely when I listened to this. She performed this at the Royal Albert Hall in London maybe in 1974. At the age of 45 , her voice was as sweet as it was when she sang those fabulous melodies when she was just a teenager.

One more quality of Lata was her meticulous practice to learn the right pronunciation  of the language in which she sang. Just listen to her Punjabi diction in this  heer that she delivers with  perfection.

That was my humble attempt to write about the immense variety in Lata’s singing . For many of these genres there could be hundreds of examples, especially for the sad, ghazal, happy, romantic & classical ones. One can never do full justice while writing about such great legends. Hope I shall be able to continue in future blogs to write about her and thousands of masterpieces she had left behind for us to enjoy.

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer 

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

1. You Tube
2. Wikipedia
3. www.geetmanjusha.com

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.